David Alan Ciesinski Sells 17,000 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Stock

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ LANC opened at $192.20 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $178.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $209.81.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LANC. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,188,000 after purchasing an additional 6,375 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 238,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,217,000 after purchasing an additional 22,019 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 366.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,699,000 after buying an additional 39,474 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at about $443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Company Profile

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.